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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28613559">Old Palace AU</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryse_san/pseuds/Ryse_san'>Ryse_san</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Yugioh</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Comfort, Discovery of Powers, Fluff, M/M, Magic Powers, Occult</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:20:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,218</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28613559</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryse_san/pseuds/Ryse_san</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryou and Seto find a Victorian manor and temporarily got trapped in it. They later discover that they have powers and have to deal with the arising problems.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bakura Ryou/Kaiba Seto, Euroshipping - Relationship</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Exposition</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They should have never visited that old mansion.</p><p>Seto and Ryou were out on a drive on an unfinished road in the countryside. They had stopped in a thick patch of the forest where the car could no longer get through, so Ryou decided for them to continue on foot.</p><p>“Let’s stop there.” Ryou said, holding an open palm towards the thick patch of woods.</p><p>“Okay.” Seto pulled the car over to a safe spot and turned off the car. “Why did you choose here?”</p><p>Ryou only stared at the canopy. “Just a hunch?”</p><p>“And HOW do you know that it won’t just be where there is a particularly large amount of birds again?” He asked sarcastically.</p><p>“Well, if it is just birds, that’s fine too. Let’s go.” He prompted with a smile on his face.</p><p>“Alright, then.” Seto followed Ryou once he started moving forward.</p><p>~</p><p>Three minutes later, they found an old Victorian-style manor, especially odd in Japan’s countryside. Ryou was absolutely amazed.</p><p>“What is THIS doing HERE?” He asked rhetorically. “Do you think we can look inside?”</p><p>“I see an overgrown house with the front door open and absolutely no signs of human life. I’m sure it’s abandoned.”</p><p>“Great!” Ryou ran ahead, Seto following not too far behind. He took a breath of the mansion’s air and immediately coughed. “It’s musty in here.”</p><p>“Really must be abandoned.” He turned on his phone’s flashlight. “There aren’t any lights so use your phone to guide you.”</p><p>~</p><p>Ryou followed suit and the two ventured forth. The front lobby had two grand staircases leading to the rest of the house on a higher level. They took the one to go to their right first. The hallway windows were clouded with age, some having hairline fractures that never gave way to further damage. On the sides of each window were shutters to cover and lock the windows.</p><p>The floor was covered in a dusty velvet type of carpet. Opposite of the windows were paintings of nature in night time. It felt as misplaced in the palace as the palace was in the country. Every now and then was an end table with a vase of flowers that have been long gone.</p><p>While Seto acted as the responsible guide, Ryou took in every single detail of the mansion. At one point, Ryou stopped to stare at another obscure painting. When he was done, he turned around, and Seto didn’t seem to be anywhere near.</p><p> “Seto?” He called out.</p><p>“Ryou?!” Seto called back in disbelief.</p><p>“Where are you?”</p><p>“My answer won’t help. Where are YOU?”</p><p>“I’m by the obscure woman painting.”</p><p>“Which one? I have passed at least five in the past few minutes.”</p><p>“Hold on, I think I can walk closer to you.” Seto’s voice sounded far, but definitely at least ahead of him rather than behind. He walked forwards until there was a path to either keep going or to go through the opening in the wall. “Let’s try again!”</p><p>“What is around you now?”</p><p>“I’m at a doorway without a door.”</p><p>“I don’t remember there being one.” Seto’s bass voice echoed around the stone walls, overlapping some of his words.</p><p>“I can’t tell where you are! It’s echoing too much!”</p><p>“Then stay in a single room and I’ll find you!”</p><p>“Got it!” Between using the doorway or to keep going, Ryou chose to keep walking forward. It led him to a series of left turns that lead him to a cozy room with a fireplace, bed, lounge chair, and firewood. In an effort to save his phone’s battery life and to get warmer, he took a free-standing piece of firewood and tried to start a fire. It took longer than he wanted it to, but he got a fire starting. He took the blanket from the bed and sat in the lounge chair.</p><p>The fire may have warmed the air, but it didn’t lend any comfort to his mind. What kind of place was this? How did it get here? In a few minutes, he decided to avoid an anxiety attack and to try to at least get to where he was last time. He ran a few meters when a blinding red light shone in his face. He stumbled to the next turn where a blue light bombarded him too.</p><p>Suddenly, there was a left turn where it should only go right. He looked around to try to make sense of things, when a purple light, as blinding as the others, flashed. Reluctantly, he took the left turn.</p><p>“Seto?” He called out. He waited for a reply but all he got was a blinding yellow flash. He kept going, calling out. The next corner he stepped into, there was another light, this time indigo. The next turn, he almost expected a light, but it led him back to the same lounge room.</p><p>He stood in complete confusion. He shook his head and tried again. But every attempt started to feel the same. Green light, indigo light, red light, green light, orange light, lounge.</p><p>Indigo, blue, yellow, red, indigo, red, purple, blue, red, lounge.</p><p>Purple, orange, red, blue, indigo, lounge.</p><p>But one attempt he made, nothing was adding up. The lights were never the same or even following an order. He stood in the same corner, trying to make sense of things. The indigo light flashed six times. Then he tried returning to the lounge, but it was a corner. Red flashed in his face. The next corner shone blue at him, then he was able to get back.<br/>
He tried three more times.</p><p>Purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red, lounge.</p><p>Blue, red, purple, orange, yellow, lounge.</p><p>Yet on the final attempt, he ran into an orange light, a purple light, red light, yellow light, then found himself at the top of the staircase that led to the left from the perspective of one who just walked into the house. He looked at the other staircase. At the top of it Seto stood, just as confused as Ryou.</p><p>“Ryou, we’re leaving, NOW.”</p><p>“Agreed.”</p><p>	Seto spoke as he descended to the main floor. “This house isn’t normal in any way. After a few points, the walls start shifting. I have found that they are silent when they do and the stones shift to keep a uniform look. From now on,” He held his hand firmly. “If we go exploring another place, let’s never let go of each other. With a place like this, we could easily have gotten lost forever.”</p><p>	Ryou stole a final glance at the house as they walked back to the car. He forgot to extinguish the fire, but a cursed place like that, although beautiful, could burn to ash for all he cared.</p><p>	The rest of their drive was spent in the city, which was more fun in Ryou’s opinion, getting to see all the buildings that were in the area. In the evening, they had dinner out with Mokuba. They had a great night and ended the day on a good note.</p><p>	The next couple of days were very normal. Seto and Ryou greeted each other in the classroom, had lunch together, and overall had some very fulfilling time together.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Manifestation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ryou comes down with the flu. All the while, his powers manifest, intensifying a flu symptom. Seto keeps him at the manor to check on him and take care of him.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next day during lunch, Ryou and Seto had lunch together as per usual.</p><p>	“Are you okay, Ryou?” Seto asked, turned towards and looking directly at Ryou.</p><p>	“Yeah, why?” He casted his gaze up at him.</p><p>	“You look exhausted.”</p><p>	“I...must’ve not gotten enough sleep last night. But I’ll have plenty of energy after lunch. Calories ARE energy, after all.”</p><p>	“Are you sure?”</p><p>	Ryou nodded. Truth was, he felt exhausted and hardly wanted to eat. The entire morning felt like he just got done with an intense workout routine and all the while he’s had a feeling in his body that he’s been fighting off, making him feel worse.</p><p>	He opened his bento box and started eating. It wasn’t long before his appetite vanished. He decided to try to distract Seto by talking about all sorts of things. Ryou could tell Seto was skeptical nonetheless about how well he really was, but there was nothing he could do about it.</p><p>	The next class was gym and because boys and girls have different gym periods, Seto was in Ryou’s gym class. They walked together outside to the track field.</p><p>	“I feel a lot of heat coming from you just standing next to you.”</p><p>	“We just got from the guys’ locker room and out in the warm sun, it’s all very warm places.” Ryou smiled sheepishly as he tied his hair back. He remained silent as they got there. Halfway there, he started feeling lightheaded.</p><p>	Coach Karita took role and started class. “Alright, boys. Today, I want everyone to run 2 laps as a warm-up before we do our fitness testing. Everyone line up at the starting line!”</p><p>	As Ryou went to the starting line, his cheery expression faded.</p><p>	“GO!”</p><p>	Ryou ran and Seto stayed by his side. 50 meters in, Ryou’s vision started to fade. 100 meters in, he passed out.</p><p>	Seto stopped immediately. “Ryou!” He got on his knees and felt Ryou’s forehead. “He’s burning up.” He picked him up and started walking. He could see Ryou’s friends nearby coming over.</p><p>	“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Coach Karita shouted.</p><p>	“I’m taking Ryou to the infirmary. He passed out while running with an intense fever.”</p><p>	“Nonsense, he’s just faking it.”</p><p>	“No, he isn’t. He looked exhausted all day long and even worse once we got outside.”</p><p>	“And how do I know you’re not in on the trick?”</p><p>	Yugi, Joey, and Honda arrived.</p><p>	“We saw Ryou-kun pass out. Why is that?” Yugi asked.</p><p>	“Not exactly sure, but he’s burning up. I’m trying to take him to the infirmary, but Karita here won’t let me pass.”</p><p>	Yugi looked at the teacher. “C’mon, Coach Karita, does it look like Ryou-kun’s still conscious? What would make you believe us?”</p><p>	He thought for a moment. “Fine, but only two of you may go, which means Kaiba and one other.”</p><p>	Joey raised his hand. “I will, and I’m not taking no as an answer, Kaiba.”</p><p>	Seto rolled his eyes. “Okay. For Ryou’s sake, I’ll tolerate you.”</p><p>	“Yugi and I will visit after class. Now go on.” Honda said.</p><p>	‘I don’t need a command from someone else to do something.’ Seto thought. He started walking, securely holding Ryou bridal-style. They were in the first hallway before Joey broke the silence.</p><p>	“How did it get this bad?”</p><p>	“I didn’t think it was this bad. He told me he didn’t get much sleep last night and though I suspected worse, he acted better. The better question is, how did you four not notice anything? Fatigue was clear as day in his movement.”</p><p>	“Well not everyone is as perceptive as you, Kaiba.”</p><p>	Seto rolled his eyes to stop himself from further comment. “On a different note, how will the others be checking on Ryou in between classes? There isn’t much time for leisure.”</p><p>	“Maybe not, but Yugi and Honda have classes near the infirmary. They can just leave their bags in the classroom and run to the infirmary to check on the guy.”</p><p>	Seto hummed in reply and said nothing else until they got to the infirmary. Thankfully, the nurse was in the room.</p><p>	The nurse gasped at the sight of Ryou. “Oh my, what have we got here?”</p><p>	“His name is Bakura Ryou, during gym class he passed out while running. As far as I know, he has fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, and coughing.”</p><p>	“I see. Well, he is in good hands, you two can head back on to class.”</p><p>	“I’m planning on staying. Blonde here can go, though.”</p><p>	“Hey, I wanna stay here too. He’s my friend, after all.”</p><p>	“I’m sorry, but you two must go back to class. It is for the bett-”</p><p>	“Ma’am, I don’t like to do this often, but I follow a plan approved by all of my teachers which allows me to miss school for work purposes, but I haven’t had to leave very often. I’m sure my teachers would understand if I were to miss my afternoon classes today.”</p><p>	The nurse thought for a moment. “Alright, but you sir,” she gestured at Joey, “should go back to class.”</p><p>	Joey sighed. “Alright. Kaiba, make sure he gets well.” Then he left.</p><p>	The nurse walked over to one of the beds and pulled the blanket in preparation. “Please place him here.”</p><p>	Seto nodded and obeyed.</p><p>	"Do you know of anyone whom I should call? A mother or father perhaps?"</p><p>"He lives alone, though after school I plan on letting him stay at my house at least until he gets better."</p><p>"Are you sure that would be okay with your parents?"</p><p>"I am the head of my house. It'll be fine."</p><p>"You are a very kind friend for him."</p><p>Seto smiled a small smug smile. “I suppose you could say that.”</p><p>The nurse ran water through a rag and wrung out the excess water. She placed it in a mini fridge before grabbing a thermometer and holding it a few centimeters away from Ryou’s forehead.</p><p>“What’s his temperature?”</p><p>“37.8 degrees (100° F). In a few minutes, I’ll take the compress out of the fridge which will need to be replaced every 15 minutes. Can you keep track of that?”</p><p>“Of course.” Seto worked his traditional watch to have a 15-minute timer on standby.</p><p>They said nothing for the next 5 minutes. Seto started the timer as soon as the compress was on Ryou’s head and after it was placed, the nurse left without saying why. Seto sat there, taking a careful look at Ryou. Ryou had an unusual expression, a mix of strain and relaxation. His cheeks were quite flushed, probably the most colorful he’s seen his face so far. He noticed his hair was still tied back so he took out the hair tie and kept it on his wrist</p><p>30 minutes and two compress changes later and the nurse now back in the infirmary, Ryou woke up. His eyes quickly searched the surroundings, trying to recognize the place.</p><p>“Where am I?”</p><p>“You’re in the infirmary. You passed out during gym class.”</p><p>“Then I need to get back to class, I can’t miss school.” Ryou sat up, but Seto gently pushed on his chest to get him to lay back down.</p><p>“Ryou, you are very sick. You aren’t eating, you have a fever, and I can tell you’ve been tired all day. Rest up.”</p><p>Ryou sighed and placed his knuckles at his lips. “Okay. But I do feel nauseous.”</p><p>“There’s a mini trash can right beside the bed.” The nurse said.</p><p>Ryou nodded very slightly. The first wave of nausea peaked but all it came to was just excess spit.</p><p>“Mr. Bakura, when you’re ready I’d like you to answer some questions.”</p><p>“Go ahead.”</p><p>“Do you have a sore throat?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Do you have a headache?”</p><p>“A bad one.”</p><p>“Have you been having a runny nose?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“And finally, have you been sneezing today?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Then it is safe to say that you have the flu. It’s unfortunate it’s this bad.”</p><p>“‘This bad’?” Ryou looked at Seto.</p><p>“It isn’t normal to faint when you have the flu.”</p><p>“How long was I out?”</p><p>“About 40 minutes.”</p><p>“When does this class period end?”</p><p>“In about 10 minutes, which means your friends should be stopping by soon.” The nurse answered.</p><p>“That’s good.” Ryou paused for a long moment. “What’s that noise?”</p><p>“What noise?” Seto asked.</p><p>“I don’t know, but there’s some weird constant noise.” He put a hand on his head.</p><p>“It’s probably just the teachers in the classrooms surrounding us talking.” The nurse guessed.</p><p>Before Ryou could reply, another wave of nausea hit, causing him to regurgitate. Before long, Yugi, Honda, and Anzu were in the infirmary. They walked over to the bed.</p><p>“We’re here!” Anzu said to mark their arrival.</p><p>“So why did Ryou pass out earlier?” Honda asked.</p><p>“Your friend here has the flu.” The nurse said.</p><p>“How are you holding up?” Yugi inquired with a look of concern.</p><p>“Could be better, have been way worse.”</p><p>“Hey, there’s finally some color in that pale face o’ yours.” Joey joked, which made Ryou laugh a little.</p><p>“You all should really be heading to your next class. I don’t want you all to be late because of me.”</p><p>“Nonsense, our classrooms are all just around here.”</p><p>“Then in that case, what happened while I was absent?”</p><p>“Well, I got back to class and Yugi used his vertically challenged, speedy-texting self to hide in a group of guys to text Anzu and fill her in on what happened so she knows to come here after class. Then Coach tortured the fitness out of us.”</p><p>“Wow.” Ryou commented tiredly.</p><p>“Come on, boys, let’s let Ryou sleep. He needs all the rest he can get and we have less than a minute before the bell.” Anzu told them. And in seconds they were gone.</p><p>“Before you fall asleep, Mr. Bakura,” The nurse poured a cup of water and handed it to Ryou, “please drink some water. Don’t want you to risk fainting again.”<br/>
Ryou gave a soft hum before taking the cup, quickly emptying it. He handed it back and laid down.</p><p>20 minutes later, the nurse checked Ryou’s temperature after removing the compress prior. She stared at the screen with a mix of concern and surprise.</p><p>“What’s the matter?”</p><p>“His fever’s much worse. It’s 39.3 degrees (102.7° F) now. Any higher and he’d have to go to the hospital.”</p><p>“Wa- Really?”</p><p>She nodded. She took the rag, put more water through it, wrung it, and put it in the fridge. Later in the hour, the others came to check on Ryou again, but he was still asleep.</p><p>“He looks so peaceful when he’s asleep.” Anzu commented with a smile.</p><p>Seto nodded, one of the few times he’s ever agreed with her. “His fever’s gotten worse. Any higher and he’d need to see a doctor. If his fever doesn’t lower before he wakes up, he’ll most likely have deliria so don’t be surprised if he acts strange next time you see him.”</p><p>“Poor Ryou.” Yugi said.</p><p>“So how is he going to get home? He can’t walk all the way to his house.” Joey asked.</p><p>“I’m going to take him to my house and look after him during his recovery.”</p><p>“You kids should head on to your next class, now. It’s 14:10, the bell’s going to ring soon. You’ll see your friend after the dismissal bell.”</p><p>Yugi nodded. “See you after school, Ryou-kun.” He whispered before leaving.</p><p>Soon enough, 15:00 came around. Ryou woke up at 14:58 but was still drowsy when his friends stopped by at 15:07. Joey was holding Ryou’s bag.</p><p>“You’re awake.” Yugi said with a smile.</p><p>“How’s his fever?” Anzu asked the nurse.</p><p>“Let’s find out.” She took his temperature again. “37.9 degrees (100.2° F), almost the same as it was earlier. That’s a relief.”</p><p>“How high was it earlier?” Ryou asked.</p><p>“39.3 degrees.”</p><p>“R-Really? Wow…”</p><p>Joey rested Ryou’s bag by the bed. “Here’s your bag. Don’t know what you’ve got in it, but we figured you wouldn’t want to lose it.”</p><p>Ryou smiled. “Thank you.”</p><p>“I think we should go. Ryou, can you walk?”</p><p>“Sure, just...” Ryou took off the blankets, “get up,” He stood up, “and walk.” He tried taking a few steps but stumbled on the third step, supporting himself on the bed with his arm. “I suppose not.” His face looked purely exhausted.</p><p>Seto immediately went to his side and shifted Ryou’s weight onto himself. He grabbed Ryou’s bag and picked him up bridal-style. He turned his attention to the nurse. “Thank you for taking care of him today.”</p><p>“You’re so welcome.” She nodded her head in reply.</p><p>Seto proceeded to leave the school, Ryou leaning on his chest.</p><p>At 15:30, they arrived at the Kaiba manor.</p><p>Ryou got out of the car. Keeping one hand on the car, he walked over to the side facing the front door.</p><p>Seto carried him inside, leaving their shoes in the front room, and brought Ryou to the guest room. It was a spacious room with a queen-sized bed with soft white bedding, a large window on the opposite side, a side table drawer on both sides of the bed, a TV in the corner to the left of the window, a dresser bedside the bedroom door, and on the opposite side of the door there was small table and a soft leather lounge chair that one could comfortably sit in just about any position on it.</p><p>Seto rested Ryou onto the bed and put the blankets over him. “Try to stay under the covers as much as you can. I’m no doctor, but I know it helps your body kill the virus if you let it stay as warm as possible. And try to get some rest. I’ll be right back with some medicine.”</p><p>“May I have some tea too?” Ryou quietly asked.</p><p>“Of course. What kind?”</p><p>“Lemon, please.”</p><p>Seto kissed Ryou’s head before leaving the room.</p><p>Ryou adjusted himself to lay on his side before realizing something startling: the Millennium Ring wasn’t on him. Where was it? He knew he had it on at lunch, but did he take it off before gym? He couldn’t remember. In fact, most of the day after lunch felt hazy to remember. For about the last 35 minutes, Ryou’s had a constant ache in his muscles, like every muscle had its own workout completed. But in the midst of his contemplation the soreness peaked for a split second.<br/>
Electricity crackled around his body.</p><p>Out of shock, Ryou immediately left the bed. If his body was really producing excess electricity, he didn’t want to possibly cause a fire. He half-fell to a kneeling position. At this rate, he couldn’t be in bed or he may start a fire and he can’t touch a wall or he might blow a fuse.</p><p>In a few minutes, Seto stood at the bedroom door. “Ryou, what’s wrong? Is there a spider in the bed?”</p><p>Ryou shook his head. “Something is wrong with me.”</p><p>“Of course, you have the flu.”</p><p>“Not like that. Just a moment ago, I...created electricity.”</p><p>Seto sat down the contents of his hands. “How so?”</p><p>“I-I don’t know. I was trying to remember stuff from earlier and I was getting so anxious, it just...happened.”</p><p>“Could you do it again?”</p><p>“Probably.”</p><p>Seto brought Ryou to the open area in front of the bed. “Show me. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but there’s a possibility you are just delirious now from fever.”</p><p>Ryou released the internal block he had placed to suppress the unfamiliar sensation through his entire body. He could hear the electricity around him. It took a minute for him to completely suppress it again. He looked up at Seto, whose expression was a mix of surprise, awe, and concern.</p><p>“You made it go away?”</p><p>“Sort of. I-”</p><p>“Could it come back without your meaning to?”</p><p>“I’m not sure.”</p><p>“Well, until it happens again, let’s keep using the bed. You need rest.”</p><p>“But what if it happens after I’ve fallen asleep?”</p><p>“I just thought of a plan. You don’t need to worry. Just rest.”</p><p>Ryou hummed softly in reply. Seto helped him to bed. After some tea and medicine, Ryou quickly fell asleep.</p><p>Seto retrieved a small trash can and a real cold compress. Earlier Ryou was nauseous soon after waking up and the compress was just to keep him comfortable. He sat by and kept an eye on him, mentally planning on what Ryou’s dinner should be. If he’s hardly eating, he wants whatever he does eat to be very nutritious.</p><p>Mokuba entered the room. “There you a- what’s up with Ryou?”</p><p>“He has a flu. He just got to sleep. Why were you looking for me?”</p><p>“Because it’s 15:55 and it didn’t look like you were home, but your shoes were in the front room.”</p><p>“Ah, I see. Sorry for getting you concerned.”</p><p>The Kaiba brothers continued talking for a good bit before Seto starting on making Ryou’s dinner, checking in on him every so often. At 17:30, Seto went back into the guest room with a small tray. He sat it on the end table and gently shook Ryou. “Hey, wake up.”</p><p>Ryou reluctantly opened his eyes. “What’s going on?”</p><p>“It’s dinnertime. You’ve eaten almost nothing all day. As much as you need sleep, you also need nutrients to fight off your flu.”</p><p>Ryou hummed and sat up. The ache in his muscles was almost gone. “What’s for dinner?”</p><p>“I’ve made ginger tea and okayu (boiled rice porridge) with mushrooms and green onion.”</p><p>“Wow, you can cook?” Ryou joked.</p><p>“Just because I have a busy life doesn’t mean I haven’t tried learning to cook.” Seto said with a chuckle. He rested the tray on Ryou’s lap.</p><p>He put his hands together and smiled. “Itadakimasu.” Then he started eating.</p><p>“How do you feel?”</p><p>“Better than before, but still tired.”</p><p>Seto nodded in understanding. “I’m sure you are. You can go to sleep after you’re done eating.”</p><p>“Where are the tissues?”</p><p>“Right here.” He handed him the tissue box.</p><p>Ryou took one and tried to blow his nose, but only air came out.</p><p>“Runny nose?”</p><p>“Yeah…” Ryou said, playfully pouting.</p><p>Seto ruffled Ryou’s hair a little. “In the future, if you’re feeling bad, please, let me know. I’m here for you, so if you’re feeling sick or you just want someone to be there, I’m there.”</p><p>“I know. It’s just...I don’t like sick days. If I’m not going to school or going to work or doing my errands, then I’m at home, alone. Being home alone and not having any energy to do anything is one of the worst feelings.”</p><p>“Don’t you watch anime? Or read manga or anything?”</p><p>“No, because I’d be sleeping too much to catch an episode or to really dive into a chapter.” He ate another spoonful of the rice porridge. “But I really appreciate you looking after me this time.” He smiled.</p><p>“Of course.”</p><p>They sat in comfortable silence as Ryou continued eating. He ate half of the okayu before getting full, then took a sip of tea, which caused an unexpected coughing fit. “WHAT kind of tea is that?”</p><p>“I told you it was ginger.”</p><p>“Ginger’s gonna be the death of me!”</p><p>Seto laughed. “It is a strong taste, but it helps your immune system.”</p><p>“I think ‘strong’ is an understatement.” He looked into the cup and found the honey all sitting at the bottom. “That explains it. The honey sunk to the bottom.” He used the spoon for his porridge to stir the tea. He got through most of the cup when he suddenly got a splitting headache.</p><p>“Is everything alright?”</p><p>“I’m not too sure. My head hurts worse now.”</p><p>“The nurse DID say that headaches come with the flu. Would you like some ibuprofen?”</p><p>“Yes please."</p><p>“Then I’ll be right back.”</p><p>When Seto left the room, Ryou leaned forward, elbows on his lap, head in his hands. His body felt overwhelmed with the urge to do something, and he was suppressing that urge. He felt tired from it and the resistance made his headache feel worse. He checked the time. It was 18:03. What if he...let this urge play itself out, just a little bit? Would it alleviate his headache?</p><p>He gingerly mitigated his suppression, enough to let his body do whatever it had been begging him to do. As he did, he could feel the weight of the area around him starting to dissolve. He dared to glance around the room. The objects in it were floating a bit. Panicked, he reinstated his restraint, objects returning to the ground with a low thmp. Pretending nothing happened, he laid back down.</p><p>In a few minutes, Seto returned with the bottle of ibuprofen and a glass of water. He tapped Ryou’s shoulder thrice. “I’m back.”</p><p>Ryou sat up a little to take two ibuprofen, drink some water, then laid back down. “Thank you.”</p><p>Seto gently brushed away Ryou’s bangs (fringe). His cold fingers felt good on Ryou’s hot forehead. Ryou tilted his head towards Seto’s hand, a comfortable sleepy smile on his face. The coolness greatly helped to ease the pain of his headache.</p><p>Upon seeing the comfort Ryou had from his hand, Seto used his own power, lightly summoning frost to the front of his hand. It didn’t take long for Ryou to fall asleep. When he got up, he noticed a difference in how his steps felt, like his foot didn’t quite reach the floor, but his step WAS complete. Once he left the bedroom area, his steps felt normal again.</p><p>He went to Isono. “Can you send out someone to Ryou’s house? He has a cat and I think it’d be good for her to stay in his room while he recovers from the flu.”</p><p>“Yes, I can. When is this effective?”</p><p>“Immediately.”</p><p>“Yes, sir.”</p><p>At 18:30, the Kaiba brothers had their dinner, alone with each other as per usual.</p><p>“So...what’s going on with Ryou?”</p><p>“He has the flu.”</p><p>“No, what’s REALLY going on with Ryou? Last night you told me about your ice powers, but in the game room, some stuff started floating. Unless you are hiding some other power, that’s gotta be Ryou.”</p><p>Seto gave a brief nod. “He seems to have some of his own power manifesting. A few hours ago, he told me about his body creating electricity. But now his power seems to no longer have a trace of that power. For now, I’m just keeping an eye on him in case there are new developments.” He had an in-thought expression on his face.</p><p>“I know that look. I bet you already have an idea on something.”</p><p>“Yes. At school, when he was asleep after collapsing, he had a fever that was on the brink of needing to be taken to the hospital. It’s not normal for a fever to last for exactly an hour like that. I think it’s related to a different power he has.”</p><p>“So what you’re saying is he can do electricity, levitation, and...possibly a fire power?”</p><p>“That’s likely.”</p><p>“Cool!”</p><p>“We’ll see tomorrow what other powers he has.”</p><p>“We?”</p><p>“Yes. Until Ryou recovers from his flu, I want you to stay home. I bet you can help with all of this too.”</p><p>“Wow, that’s awesome.”</p><p>Seto had to crack a smile at his brother’s enthusiasm. They continued talking and later went their separate ways. Mokuba played in the game room, and Seto would go between working and checking on Ryou. Once every hour until he went to bed, he’d check his temperature. At 21:05, Ryou’s temperature spiked again, just like at the nurse’s office. He’d check his temperature again every 5 minutes to see exactly when the fever went back down. At 22:00, it returned to its previous temperature.</p><p>At 22:30, he went to bed, knowing he’d need his own rest to stay vigilant for Ryou.</p>
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